AWA still have 737-200's in their fleet. I didn't think so. AWA operates a hub at Port Columbus and used to have a lot of 737-200 operating here. Now they have been replaced w/ CRJ's and A319's. I have not seen an AWA 737-200 in a long time. AWA still has one 737-100. It is for the Phoenix Suns Basketball team. It is painted in the new AWA colors and has large red Phoenix Suns titles on the top of the plane.

If you mean that specific aircraft, there's no way to know which one it is, since Chris Barrow didn't provide any ID. In the caption, Chris wrote, "this is one of 2 737-200 that America West owns." I think he meant "owns" as opposed to "leases". Either way, it's not accurate information.

They still operate around 17 -200's, five of which the airline owns. At least 8 aircraft have recently been fitted with hushkits, so they'll be around a little longer. N145AW and N708AW (the -100) were both built in 1969, so I would hope they'll be retired soon.

The ones that were hushkitted will be painted at their next 'C' Check... which is what I've been told from maintenence here at America West. The 737-200's that have not been hushkitted will soon be retired.

I was talking with an AWA mechanic the other day about precisely this subject. Here's what he said:
a.) The 737-200s are a pain in the butt to maintain.
b.) They are exceedingly unreliable.
c.) They are thus very expensive to operate.
d.) Performance out of PHX is marginal in terms of takeoff power needed and fuel savings in the climb.
e.) One or two days' worth of departures don't make a difference, but a year or two of that does.
f.) He and everyone he's talked to wishes that AWA would get on with its new Airbus acquisitions and replace the 737-200s, but he doesn't see that happening soon because the new Airbuses are incredibly expensive and AWA simply doesn't have the capital to buy 'em right now and see savings later. They need immediate savings and new airplanes at the same time. That's impossible.

An HP mechanic would know very well that a -200 is a pain to maintain, but only a bean-counter would know exactly how much money they make. I'm not a bean-counter, but I guarantee you the -200s are money-makers, or they would not be in the fleet. As far as performance, they pack those things tight--their main limitation is on longer routes with weather which limits available alternates. Phoenix has plenty o' runway to get 'em off with a handsome payload to places like ELP and ONT.

A -200 may require more regular MX, but I seriously doubt that a -200 has poorer dispatch reliability than an A320. It may be old, but well-maintained, it is reliable. Now as a passenger, I'd prefer an A320 with spacious seats, entertainment, and bright interior.